


Swimming Fool

by youbecamemyhabit



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: A bit of swearing because that's who I am as a person, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But it's Shownu so who wouldn't be?, Fluff, Happy Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Joohyuk and Wonho are mentioned, Kihyun's family just wants him to get a boyfriend already, M/M, Swimming, The setting is modern day Korea but way less homophobia because I'm bi and I said so, Thirsty Yoo Kihyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 09:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17363801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youbecamemyhabit/pseuds/youbecamemyhabit
Summary: Kihyun was aware of how hot his Grandma's swimming tutor was, but a brand new information about him arose as he went to pick up her up on a fateful Saturday morning. Hyunwoo doesn't make his day easier, but maybe it was meant to be that way.





	Swimming Fool

**Author's Note:**

> hello lads!
> 
> this prompt was requested on twitter, i tried my best!  
> the title is from a Seventeen song.
> 
> enjoy (or not)

Kihyun almost jumped out of his own skin when he was struck by the sound of a car honking right next to him, because _of course_ his distraction almost got him run over while crossing the street.

His blood ran cold once he realized how close that shit was to actually hit him — less than a meter, at best — and the man scurried away to the sidewalk with trembling legs and a pounding heart, leaving behind the angry shouts of the middle-aged man behind the wheel.

Great. There was even a better way to start that Saturday morning?

Even though he knew it was probably freezing cold, Kihyun leaned against the wall of a bookshop to calm down his nerves, but the universe seemed to have different plans for him of Minhyuk’s name popping up in his phone screen could tell something. 

Clasping the phone tightly in his hand, he sighed before giving in.

“What?”

_“Jeez, is that a way to talk to your best friend?”_

Kihyun unconsciously clenched his jaw.

They had been friends ever since high school, but he had no idea how Minhyuk and him didn’t end up killing each other after they moved in together.

“Minhyuk…”

 _“Fine, fine.”_ The man still huffed on the other end of the line, though. _“Where are you? I woke up and you were gone. Come back and make me some breakfast.”_

“Yah.” A scowl was forming on his face, but Kihyun tried to keep it cool since a passerby gave him a weird look. “Eat the leftovers, I’m busy. I have to pick up my grandma at her swimming lessons then sprint to uni.”

_“Aw, tell grandma I miss her! I’ll come with you next time.”_

“Just…” Kihyun sighed at the remembrance he still had a long day to go. “Fine. Whatever. I’m hanging up, see you at home.”

There was no time for him to even catch a breath while he made his way towards the fitness center at the end of the street, trusting his body memory to guide him towards the pool area.

It was clear that God really abandoned them on Earth the moment group projects were created.

No matter which class he took, Kihyun was destined to be assigned to projects with the kind of people who thought doing the bare minimum to not fail was more than enough, and there was more odious to him than mediocrity and those clumps of hair that clogged the shower drain.

He was currently messaging all the dumbasses that agreed to meet him at the library to discuss how they were going to build a portfolio, only taking his eyes off of his phone to wave at his grandmother, who stood next to the pool with her swimming class friends.

“Kihyun-ah.”

At the sound of the voice of his grandma being so close to him, Kihyun winced; he hadn’t noticed already was standing by his side wearing a white bathrobe.

“Hmm?” Kihyun blinked a couple of times.

“I’ll grab my bag at the changing room and we can go, okay?”

Curving his mouth into a smile, he nodded at the woman.

A _ping_ announced his return to the anguish, and Kihyun nearly forgot he was in public and groaned aloud when he saw a message from one of his colleagues saying he wouldn’t be able to make it that day.

“Asshole.” Kihyun cussed at the phone, under his breath.

The chattering noise in the background faded away as Kihyun started furiously typing a heated reply, mindlessly ambling around the outskirts of the pool; those kids deserved to hear some not-so-kind words of advice for having no respect for people’s time whatsoever, even if their grades depended on it. He was sick of it, and was pretty close to finish his rant on their group chat when he collided against an obstacle along the way.

Kihyun could’ve fallen straight into the goddamn pool if wasn’t for the strong arms that wrapped around his waist to keep him grounded.

“Oh my God…” Kihyun gasped as he held his phone against his chest, slowly raising his head to meet his savior.

“Are you okay?”

Absolutely fucking not.

Not when the one hold him tight in his arms was the guy Kihyun had been thirsting over for the last few weeks, ever since his grandmother started her swimming lessons during the weekends and his mother, way too busy to fetch her once the class was done, put Kihyun in charge of picking up his grandma.

Tall, handsome, tanned and built like a renaissance bronze sculpture, the guy was the perfect recipe for disaster if Kihyun’s failed love life had something to tell about the guys he was usually into.

He was his grandma’s swimming tutor, he needed to remember. It was okay to have some Rated R thoughts about the dude, but he was probably just another one of those entitled college boys destined to wreck Kihyun’s soul. And he’d let him — that’s the worst part.

Or so Kihyun thought. Because the guy smiled and then his life just went downhill at the wake of some deeply buried memories of his drunken behavior.

That was _the_ guy. How the hell could he have forgotten that he made out with that better rendition of a Greek god at Sandeul’s party last summer? Kihyun spent months tried to remember his name, and none of his useless friends seemed to know that stranger, so he eventually gave up as a sign of the destiny; maybe it was just not meant to be.

For fuck’s sake, where was the Lord’s mercy when Kihyun could feel his face burning up?

“Are you okay?” His voice was lower than he expected, but went well with ALL those manly attributes that he was _definitely_ not checking out again.

Kihyun freed himself from that embrace in a hurry, clearing his throat out of nowhere because he was stupid and distraught by that guy’s hotness, a horrible combo. It was really hard not to gawk at his entire muscular self in a simple black tee and shorts, but his willpower was strong enough to get him to talk.

“Thanks.” After screaming internally for a couple of seconds, Kihyun managed to spout his gratitude. “I can’t swim.”

The stunning tanned dude whom may or may not have pushed Kihyun against the wall of Sandeul’s kitchen had the nerve to laugh, and his eyes crinkled up just to make him look like some soft gigantic bear who seemed harmless at first sight, and indeed was.

“You should join one of my classes, then.”

Okay, no need to panic, or so that was what he told himself. The man whom Kihyun now recalled very well as the one who left the biggest hickey of his life on his neck clearly didn’t remember what happened, or else he’d surely look at least kind of awkward around him.

A small _ping_ , followed by a vibration, spread across Kihyun’s chest before he could utter something to embarrass himself, remembering him that hell was empty and all the demons were on Earth to chase his ass.

“Jesus…” Kihyun didn’t know if his heart was racing from that encounter or the messages from his peers.

“Is everything okay?” The guy in front of him asked, and Kihyun flinched at the decision of his stupid brain of reminding him how loud he moaned while they kissed.

“Just…” He sighed and felt something acrid drop to his stomach, because there was nothing else to do about it anyway. “My classmates decided to reschedule our group meeting right when I cleared my whole day for it.”

“Oh, group projects.” The not-so-stranger crossed his arms over his chest, and Kihyun had to fight all his instincts not to gulp. “Not the biggest fan either.”

“Kihyun-ah!”

His grandmother came to save him from an even bigger humiliation, God bless her soul and her entire being, while at it.

“Oh, hello, Hyunwoo!” The woman approached her teacher first, placing a hand on his arm. “Have you met my grandson? His name is Kihyun!”

_Goddamnit._

Now the guy had a name to associate to his stupid face, and Kihyun would never be able to lock eyes with him again without having some interest flashbacks.

“We have met.” Hyunwoo softly spoke while staring directly at him, which Kihyun would never admit it made his legs tremble a bit.

“He goes to the same college as you!”

“Grandma…” Kihyun squinted at her, with no malice though.

“Does he?” The guy inquired, as if he thought that wasn’t too surprising.

“Yes!” She excitedly patted Hyunwoo’s arm, endlessly showing off Kihyun’s academic achievements. “He’s an Arts major! You should see the pictures he takes, they’re amazing. He’s just one year younger than you, but I’m sure he will be doing exhibitions soon!”

Oh dear God, she really entered the Proud Grandma mood. Kihyun facepalmed for his life.

He knew what his grandmother was doing. Ever since he came out to his family, that stubborn old lady was determined to see him settled down with someone, which resulted on her trying to set him up with every gay guy she could get her hands on.

But Kihyun just wanted to go back to his apartment and drown in misery and _maybe_ try to stalk Hyunwoo on any SNS that he could possibly have.

His grandma had a different mindset.

“You should have lunch with us later!”

“Grandma!” He silently scolded the woman, who paid no mind to him. “I’m sure… he’s busy and—”

“Not really.” The corners of Hyunwoo’s mouth quirked up, and damned be Kihyun’s stomach twisting like crazy. “But I don’t want to bother, Mrs. Yoo.”

“Of course you won’t be a bother, dear!” She smiled brightly, lightly slapping his arm. “Right, Kihyun-ah?”

“Uh?” Jesus, that entire situation was triggering his fight or flight instincts. But of course his politeness won in the end. “Right, right, yeah, uh… yeah.”

“Kihyun-ah.” His grandma took a step forward, in his direction. “Give your phone number to him so you can send our address.”

That devious, cunning old lady.

In his imagination, the best outcome of that mess was the ground to open right beneath his feet and swallow him into the center of the earth until his ass was consumed by flaming magma.

Reality was way less dramatic than that, though. Kihyun couldn’t help but to bring a hand to cover his face at his grandmother’s antics, feeling the redness in his cheeks getting ready for a comeback.

Hyunwoo simply smirked and extended his hand towards him.

“My phone is in my locker.” The taller calmly explained.

Like a fool, Kihyun remembered he had his phone on his hand when he almost fell in the pool, and he was never more grateful for Hyunwoo’s strong, muscular, firm arms for catching him in time — he was broke as fuck to even dream of getting another phone, so that would’ve been the end of it.

While the man typed on his phone, his grandma gave Kihyun a furtive look and wiggled her eyebrows, to which he only shook his head in clear disapproval of her actions. Okay, maybe _partial_ disapproval because life is short and Hyunwoo was hot, and Kihyun couldn’t build an argument against a possibility of making out of with him again, even if the taller man believed it’d be their first.

“Here.”

Shooing his thoughts away, Kihyun forced himself to shoot him a quick smile before taking his phone back. Hyunwoo then bid farewell to his grandmother, promising he’d meet her and Kihyun soon.

“Grandma…” Once they were left alone, he grabbed the woman’s duffel bag and clicked his tongue. “Don’t you have any shame?”

She feigned an offended look.

“What? All you do is study and work, work and study! You’re young, you need romance!”

“I need a pay raise and health insurance, Grandma.” He arched an eyebrow at her. “Everything else can wait.”

Her mien was unconvinced.

“If you say so… but you better show up at home later. You don’t want Hyunwoo to feel awkward around two old women and your dad, right?”

She had absolutely no business in messing with Kihyun’s sense of righteousness, because now it’d eat him alive if he didn’t attend to that lunch bullshit.

With a chortle, his grandmother began to stroll towards the exit and Kihyun’s eyes darted to the phone on his hand; the brand new number was saved under a name that made a shiver run down his spine.

_"Maybe you know who I am."_

 

* * *

 

Hours dragged slowly against the waves of time, and Kihyun convinced himself that he could handle that — he was Yoo Kihyun, after all; Class President for 2 years in a row, Vice-President of the Acting and Music clubs and a photographer with innate talent for the camerawork, according to his favorite teacher at college.

So what if Hyunwoo remembered him, and the hour they spent making out in Sandeul’s kitchen until Minhyuk’s drunk ass screeched his name from the entrance of the backyard and Drunk Kihyun’s instincts were to check if his best friend was okay — dumb move, of course, since the scene he found when he got there was just Jooheon pinning Minhyuk to the floor. Disgusting.

He tried to go back and find the hot guy he was kissing, but the man seemed to have vanished into thin air, and Drunk Kihyun was easily distracted by a karaoke set in the living room. So there’s that.

Still, Kihyun could pretend he had no idea what the swimming tutor was talking about if he managed to survive that lunch.

“Hey, mom.”

His mother peeked at him over her shoulder, from head to toe, clearly judging his fashion choices since Kihyun chose to leave his apartment simply wearing jeans, a white shirt that he stole from Minhyuk with a huge picture of Freddie Mercury on it and a burgundy cardigan with white sneakers.

She stopped cutting the veggies to direct her attention to him.

“Your grandma told me we’re receiving your possible suitor.”

“No, we are NOT.” Kihyun tried to put all his conviction on his voice, sitting on a stool in front of the kitchen’s counter. “She just wants me to date so badly that she’s acting on her own. She needs more hobbies.”

“She’s not wrong, though.” His mother shrugged, focusing on cutting the vegetables again. “You need to have some fun, Kihyun. This study-work-study routine is going to kill you.”

“Nah, it won’t. And I do have fun, mom.”

“Please, Yoo Kihyun.” The sarcasm on her face as she quickly turned around was evident. “Even your father thinks you’re overdoing it.”

“Dad wants me to date?”

“You know…” The knife in her hand fastened its pace as she spoke, with his back turned to him, because that’s how the Yoos dealt with their emotions: subtly and all at once after bottling it up for a while. “Your dad wants you to be happy. He doesn’t care what other people think.”

Kihyun came out to his family during his first year in college, three years earlier, and, while everyone seemed to have taken it pretty well for people of conservative background, his father was still a bit on the fence about how to deal with him — he was still the same kid he raised, Kihyun told him, but he gave the man the space he needed to adapt.

“If that would make you happy…” Her mouth curved into a tiny but loving smile. “We talked about this a lot. He’s really okay with it.”

“Thanks.” Shyly, Kihyun scratched the back of his neck.

“So…” His mom cleared her throat to call for attention, leaning on the other side of the counter. “What do you think of him?”

“Of who?”

“Don’t make me smack you.”

“Uh…” God, was he really having that talk with his mother? “Grandma said he’s a nice and patient teacher, so I guess this is it.”

“Is he good-looking?”

Kihyun let out a defeated sigh.

“Yeah.”

“So you _are_ interested…” Not letting him live in peace, a smirk formed on her face.

“Goodbye, mother.” He heard her cackling once he jumped off the stool. “I’ll be in my room.”

Of course his family had to go and completely fall in love with Hyunwoo, just to make Kihyun’s life way more challenging. Do you have any idea how preposterous is the idea of someone you made out it in some party, six months earlier, now sit at the table with you, your parents and your grandmother?

Worse, Hyunwoo didn’t even hint a certain discomfort from being in that situation, which made Kihyun wonder what the hell was his deal. Was irking the living shit out of Kihyun his only purpose for that day? Why was that man so kind and eager to engage in conversations of the most different themes with everyone at the table but him?

It was nearly fatal for Kihyun one moment during lunch when he caught Hyunwoo staring straight into his gay soul, and almost stabbed his hand with the knife he held.

His mother, beside the guest on the other side of the table, chuckled at his despair as soon as she noticed Kihyun’s face flushing like hell.

The most unexpected thing of the day, though, was the fact that his father couldn’t shut the fuck up for one second whenever he had the chance to talk to Hyunwoo, asking him about college (he was, actually, a Business major) and how he came to work on the fitness center (the guy needed some extra money and his friend Hoseok, who also works there, recommended him), and also a bunch of other topics that Kihyun couldn’t keep up with because he went to the kitchen to do the dishes.

A sheepish smile appeared on his face as he overheard his father talking about how smart and hard-working Kihyun was; all he ever wanted since, well, forever, was to make his family proud of the person he’d become, and listening to his dad genuinely bragging about his son made his chest as warm as a sunny day.

His attempts to escape Hyunwoo’s presence in his room were ruined by his mother forcing him to keep the guy company as his dad blabbered for hours, literally hours, in the living room; he thought Hyunwoo was really close to make up some excuse to get rid of that overly passionate old man, but he attentively listened to everything Kihyun’s father talked about and replied with his opinions and questions of his own, because apparently being fucking hot, smart and handsome wasn’t enough — he had to be genuinely nice. What the fuck.

It was only when his dad exited the living room to fetch something that Hyunwoo turned his head to Kihyun, sitting on the other side of the couch.

“Your family is nice.”

“Or you are just a very patient person.”

That got a chuckle out of the man, and Kihyun tried to ignore the butterflies wriggling in his stomach.

“Really. They are really nice people. I enjoyed the food and the talk.”

Kihyun didn’t know where the sudden wittiness was coming from, but he’d enjoy while it lasted.

“So, you have another student’s house to visit? Maybe for dinner?”

“No.” Hyunwoo’s gaze didn’t leave him for a second. “This is actually the first time I do this.”

“Bet you say that to all of them.”

Hyunwoo laughed again, the type of laugh that made his eyes turn into a straight line, and a strange feeling rose in Kihyun’s chest.

The conversation was cut in by his dad sauntering into the living room again, asking Hyunwoo to follow him into the garage to check out his fishing gears, because apparently the guy was also good at that. Was that man even real or a character that jumped out of every wet dream Kihyun ever had?

To pass the time, he texted Minhyuk to remember his friend to do his goddamn laundry and decided to play video games in his room to distract himself from that increasing anxiety in his chest; maybe if he hid for enough time, Hyunwoo would be gone by the time Kihyun was ushered out of his bedroom for dinner.

But it was nearly 5:00 p.m. when someone abruptly knocked on his door and immediately stuck their head in.

“Yah, Kihyun.” His mother’s modulated voice was lower this time. “Hyunwoo is leaving. Walk him to his house.”

“What?” He chucked the wireless game controller on the floor. “I don’t even know where he lives.”

“Well, it’s a chance for you to know!” She coyly smiled. “Come on, I already told him would make him company.”

Another one of his deep, resigned sighs left his mouth.

“Could you people stop making decisions for me? Jesus…”

“Shhh. Hurry!”

Sheer awkwardness filled the air while they strolled side by side of their neighborhood, because Kihyun discovered that the universe decided to put that full-course meal of man living close to him, and yet he never even met the man around after their encounter at Sandeul’s.

How the hell would Kihyun even start a chat?

_Hey, so I guess you know we made out last summer and maybe do you wanna do it again—_

No, too bold.

_So, you wrote that on my phone so I guess—_

Ugh, beating around the bush.

_Hey, Hyunwoo, do you remember when—_

A loud groan escaped his mouth before Kihyun could mind himself, and when he did, it was already too late.

“That bad?” Hyunwoo straightforwardly asked as they rounded the corner of a smaller and emptier lane.

“What?” Kihyun had to look up to stare at him. Fucking tall people.

“Walking with me.”

The man had this serious look on his face that, at first sight, would make it seem like he was somewhat angry, but Kihyun could notice the softness in his mien too well.

“No, it’s just… uh… you know, the phone…”

What was one drop of water falling over his head swiftly turned into a heavy rain, and whatever it was they had to say to each other had to wait until they finished running for cover under the roof of a closed ramen restaurant.

“Shit!” Kihyun blurted out, looking at his partially drenched cardigan.

It got worse when the windy rain decided to attack in sideways, launching water towards his jeans.

Kihyun jerked to the side only to collide against Hyunwoo’s chest for the second time that day, and his heart leaped so fucking high it might have as well escaped through his mouth.

Hyunwoo noticed that dense downpour was coming towards that direction and spun Kihyun around by the waist, gently pressing his back against the small junction between the closed doors of the restaurant and the wall.

“You’re going to get drenched!”

For the record, he did try to get away from Hyunwoo’s protection, but it was a simple math: that guy’s muscles vs Kihyun’s arms that hadn’t seen a gym ever since 1993.

“I am aware.” The taller steadily said, in a tone a bit higher because the pouring rain around them was noisy as hell. “It’s okay. I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Are you dumb? Why the hell—”

Hyunwoo’s hands moved quickly from Kihyun’s waist to his face, which he firmly held to just kiss him in broad daylight.

First thoughts?

_What the fuck? Is he really—Holy shit he—_

Kihyun’s eyes widened for a few seconds as the loudness of the outside world was shut down over the sound of Hyunwoo’s dry and yet soft lips crashing against his own; not a drop of shyness existed in Kihyun’s body once he realized what was happening and closed the physical gap between them, promptly wrapping his arms around the taller’s neck.

And there was it, the final confirmation that Hyunwoo knew who he was; an intrinsic certainty that he recalled the way Kihyun liked to be kissed, tenderly with a dot of roughness, was now undeniable.

Before they could deepen the kiss even more, Hyunwoo pulled away, leaving Kihyun like the living embodiment of a mess right there on the street.

Dazzled, Kihyun felt his entire body tingle at the clash of the icy breeze with his now very hot skin.

“Can’t forget me this time, Kihyun.”

“MY DRUNKEN MEMORY IS THE WORST!” The shorter man chuckled at himself a bit too loudly, and Hyunwoo cracked up too. “Why didn’t you tell me all those times I went to pick up my grandma?”

“You didn’t recognize me.” He replied, wrapping an arm around Kihyun to bring him closer. Nevertheless, Hyunwoo seemed nervous for the first time that day. “I mean, that party was months ago, and I couldn’t find you anywhere because I didn’t know your name… then you showed up at the center and greeted me like a stranger…”

“I remembered today.” Kihyun giggled again, letting himself fall comfortable in the man’s embrace. “When I bumped into you and you caught me, all the memories came back in a flash.”

Hyunwoo hummed in acknowledgment, pushing back a few strands of Kihyun’s damp bangs.

“I would’ve done that sooner if I knew.”

A sudden shyness hit the shorter squarely in the chest as the rain lessened its frantic rhythm, turning into nothing more than a drizzle.

“So… uh… we’re actually… uh…” Kihyun looked down and away. “In public…”

A desire to cover his completely blushing face emerged, but Kihyun just kept his head down instead. Hyunwoo pulled away from him, but still kept a fairly good closeness.

“What now?” A question that took the last ounce of courage of him.

“Go out with me.” Hyunwoo’s voice was calm as always, but there was a hint of angst in his face that made Kihyun find him cute.

Kihyun snorted at that question/statement/request, because he was still pretty much an anxious sack of meat and that had always been who he was, no matter how hard he still tried to look confident all the time.

Strangely, there was something about Hyunwoo that inflamed his desire to be vulnerable, to attempt to grasp the weird connection between them and not be afraid of it. The more he looked at that tanned god, the more human he seemed; Kihyun had experienced what life under his touch was like, and he didn’t think there was a way back from that.

Not that he wanted it, anyway.

“Fine.” Kihyun nodded, biting his lower lip. “But you gotta teach me how to swim.”

A smile that could melt steel appeared on Hyunwoo’s face.

“Alright.” The man crossed his arms against his chest. “I’ll sign you up to the toddler class.”

Hyunwoo then made a gesture hinting it all was about Kihyun’s height, immediately cracking up at his own foolery while Kihyun slapped him in the arm.

“You know what? Forget it.” It was hard, but Kihyun kept a serious face while the taller cackled.

“I promise I won’t let you drown.”

“God…” Kihyun let out a huff, even though it didn’t cover the slow grin on his face. “What did I get myself into?”

He didn’t get a voice answer, but Hyunwoo reached to grab his hand, and maybe something stupid twisted and pulled in his chest.

And maybe, just maybe, his classmates had done something good for him for once in their lives by cancelling that meeting, and maybe, well, maybe the universe wasn’t actually trying to screw him completely.

_Thanks, Grandma._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! all my love to kihyun's grandma who passed away last year <3
> 
> you can find me on twitter at ([@chwkdy](https://twitter.com/chwkdy/)) uwu


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